Also known as: maintain · maintains · maintained · maintaining · maintainor · maintainors · champerty · supporting litigation
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
3 senses
Financial support paid by one spouse to the other after separation or divorce. The award rests on a showing that the recipient lacks sufficient property for reasonable needs and that the payor can meet those needs while supporting themselves.
Financial support paid by one spouse to the other after separation or divorce. The award rests on a showing that the recipient lacks sufficient property for reasonable needs and that the payor can meet those needs while supporting themselves.
The spouse seeking maintenance must prove insufficient property to meet reasonable needs and that the other spouse can meet those needs while supporting themselves. Courts also consider the duration of the marriage and the parties' standard of living during the marriage.
The care and repair of land or improvements to keep them safe and functional. A landlord owes this duty for areas under its control that serve tenants and for compliance with health and safety codes.
Tenants complain that common-area hallways in their apartment building are unsafe. The landlord refuses to repair broken lighting and railings. The court holds the landlord liable because the duty to maintain areas under its control for the tenants' benefit was not validly shifted by the lease.
Third-party assistance that finances or furthers litigation in which the assister has no legitimate interest. Such conduct historically constituted the common-law offense of maintenance and remains restricted by ethics rules that limit lawyer funding of clients.
Congress enacts a statute directing federal funds to maintain naval bases and provide for the common defense. The legislation is challenged as exceeding enumerated powers. The court upholds the act because Article I Section 8 expressly authorizes Congress to maintain a navy and to provide for the general welfare through taxation and spending.
The care and repair of land or improvements to keep them safe and functional. A landlord owes this duty for areas under its control that serve tenants and for compliance with health and safety codes.
Third-party assistance that finances or furthers litigation in which the assister has no legitimate interest. Such conduct historically constituted the common-law offense of maintenance and remains restricted by ethics rules that limit lawyer funding of clients.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
No. Acceptance of rent from a later possessor does not relieve a prior party that expressly assumed lease covenants. Privity of contract survives unless the landlord affirmatively grants relief from the obligation.
Plaintiffs file a products-liability suit against a manufacturer and seek class certification. The court examines whether separate actions would create inconsistent standards for the defendant. Because the requirements of Rule 23(a) and 23(b) are met, the court permits the action to be maintained as a class action.
A shareholder files a derivative suit alleging corporate waste. The corporation moves to dismiss because the shareholder did not make a pre-suit demand. The court holds that the shareholder may not maintain the proceeding without satisfying the demand requirement or showing demand futility under the statute.
A lawyer receives settlement funds belonging to a client. The lawyer deposits the money into a personal operating account rather than a separate client trust account. The disciplinary board finds that the lawyer failed to maintain client property separate from the lawyer's own property as required by the ethics rule.
A manufacturer advertises heavily and maintains dealerships and parts warehouses in the forum state. A resident is injured by one of its products and sues there. The court finds specific jurisdiction proper because the defendant's maintenance of a market in the state relates to the claim even though the particular product was sold elsewhere.
A lawyer may deposit only enough personal funds to cover bank service charges on the account. Any larger deposit would violate the duty to keep client property separate from the lawyer's own property.
…under the Constitution should be decided without examining the instrument under which it arises? This is too extravagant to be maintained. The Constitution contains many provisions that are rules for the government of courts as well as for the legislature. Judges are required to swear to support the Constitution and to…